As the Arizona Diamondbacks continue to prepare for the regular season, the team has started to round out their roster and has started to see some guys perform. Although some of their games have looked pretty abysmal there has been much to talk about in what has been a pretty quiet week thus far. Here are some of the rumblings and things you may have missed in the Dbacks recent spring training games:
The Pitching: The good and the bad
The Good:
- Right-handed reliever Scott McGough continues to look dominant in his outings as he has allowed no runs and almost no hits and a has a handful of strikeouts. His stats thus far: 1 win, 0 ERA, 4 innings pitched, 4 strikeouts, and 0.25 WHIP. McGough looks to be the front runner for the team’s closer role.
- Another reliever who has also impressed thus far is Corbin Marin. Martin has appeared in 4 games with 4.1 innings pitched, a 2.08 ERA, 6 strikeouts, and a 1.15 WHIP. Martin arsenal features a high 90’s fastball and a filthy changeup. Martin has garnered praise from teammates and Manager Torey Lovullo. Martin could be a lethal option out of the Bullpen if he keeps his impressive numbers up.
The Bad:
- During Monday’s rough loss to the Royals, Drey Jameson gave up 3 earned runs and 4 hits. Although Jameson struck out 5 through 2 innings, this was his first rough outing all spring. This isn’t bad yet but something to monitor.
- Other notable pitchers who also struggled in this game were Mark Melancon who gave up 3 hits and 2 earned runs in 1 inning and Tyler Gilbert who gave up 4 hits and 4 earned runs in 1 inning.
Hitting: The Good and the Bad
The Good
- In Wednesday’s 2-0 win over the Texas Rangers, OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. went 2-3 with a RBI. The big bat of the 6’4 215lb giant is looking to put his power on display this spring. Gurriel Jr. is 6 for 18 with 3 RBI’s and a home run and has a 1.066 OPS. Gurriel Jr. could lock up the starting left fielder job if he can manage to keep his bat hot this spring. Another notable hitter in the Wednesday win was catcher Gabriel Moreno who went 1 for 3 with a home run. Moreno is vying for the starting catcher position and this sharp performance was a good step in the right direction.
The Bad
- The Dbacks bats as a whole have been very slow-going and they haven’t been able to put up a lot of runs on the board. As Spring training goes on surely they will start to get hot at least thats the hope but for now they look pretty dormant and they must find a way to become more productive at the plate.
Overall:
They are still many Spring Training games left to be played but as Opening Day draws closer each and every day, it becomes more and more important to see what areas still need some work and what areas need to be sharpened. Hopefully, the Dbacks can get hot and start the regular season on some momentum from Spring Training.
More Dbacks: 3 Questions the Dbacks Must Answer in Spring Training
